Brain-Eating Amoeba Causes Third Death

The deadly brain-eating amoeba parasite has claimed a third American life in less than a month, the new victim being a man in his early 20s.

The death of a youth in June is being linked to the amoeba parasite by Lousiana Health officials. He could be the third victim identified to have succumbed to the parasite infection, after it killed a 9-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl this month.

The cause of the youth's death was traced to the tap water he used in a neti pot, a small teapot-shaped container used to rinse out the sinuses with salt water to relieve allergies, colds and sinus trouble, a Daily Mail report said.

The 9-year-old Virginia boy, Christian Strickland, got infected with the freshwater amoeba and died on Aug. 5. He died hardly a week after Courtney Nash, from Florida, succumbed to the same parasite after swimming in a lake.

She is believed to have dived off a rock with her family at St John's River, and caught the disease.

Amber Strickland, Christian's mother, said he might have been infected when he dunked in an unidentified water body during a fishing camp he attended a week before he died, reported Fox News.

The parasite is believed to be found commonly in ponds and lakes. In case of the young man, Dr. Raoult Ratard, Louisiana's state epidemiologist, identified the problem to be confined to the man's house. The young man had not been swimming nor been in contact with surface water, Ratard added, according to the report.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the disease is not communicable and spreads rapidly, resulting in death within days. Health officials say though the disease is not very common, it does increase during summer.

The symptoms of the infection could be a change in the sense of smell or taste, fever, sudden headache, nausea, vomiting, confusion and loss of balance.

Progression of the symptoms is rapid and could cause death in three to seven days, a Mayo Clinic Web site stated.